The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-09-26

Minnesotas high license law went into
effect the first day of last July. The license
for selling Intoxicating liquors in all places
of 10000 or more is placed at $1,000, and in
smaller places at $780, The law has now
been in operation about three months, not
long enough to test it thoroughly, but long
enough to give some idea of how it will
work. The st. Paul Pioneer Press reports
that in those cities and towns where the law
is enforced there has been falling off of
one-third in the number of saloons, and
Sunday selling to minors and to habitu->
al drunkards have, g ssrestiy diminished.
Many OF the cities and towns report that
the pubic 9Sder has improved, and the
assssAsass Of the police courts dimin-
ished. As to whether the law has had any
effect to lesson drinking there is a difference
of opinion. Reports from some places say
there is no apparent difference, while in
others diminution is thought to have taken
place. The law is said to be generally popu-
lar, its only opponents being the saloon ele-
ment, who oppose it for obvious reasons, and
the Prohbitionists who object because they
regard it as giving the countenance of the
law to rumselling and as tending to postpone
prohibition. Perhaps the fact that the State
gets large revenue out of the law has as
much to do with its popularity as anything.
AT the cost of little wounded pride the
United States may after all have profted in
not going in for the construction of enormous
ironclads such as have made England and
Italy so powerful on the water. AT Ports-s
mouth, England, last week a monster IRON
clad, the Trafalgar, was launched. A sister
ship, the Nile, is nearly ready for launch
ing. Several years of time and several mil
lions of money have been consumed in build
ing these two war ships. But since their
keels were laid the theory of naval warfare
has changed so much that many naval ex-
perts believe 1t great risk to concentrate so
much value in single craft, or two such.
Otherwise expended the sums required for
the Trafalgar and Nile would have created
fleet Of fast cruisers, armed gunboats and
swift torpedo boats. 1t was the idea of the
French Admiral Aube, at one time Minister
of Marine that France should build, instead
of heavy ironclads, swarms of small, swift
cruisers, carrying one gun Of great range
and power, if nothing else. Admiral Aube
was perhaps an extremist, certainly many of
the French people thought him so; but the
English, in hesitating to begin any more
great ironclads, are acknowledging the cor
rectness of the principle that Admiral Aube
would have carried to its utmost conclusions
AS it was America that first demonstrated
the usefulness of the ironcad TO Europe,
America is now testing contriyances which
seem to show its uselessness. At the time
of the launching Of the Trafalgar Lieuten-
ant Zalinski was blowing a schooner out
of the water with dynamite thrown from
gun distant mile and a quarter Secretary
Whitney says it is merely matter of detail
to increase the range of the gun and the
amount of explosive. If Yankee ingenuity
can arrange these details the Trafalgar, in
theory at least, has become obsolete and
nearly useless. Theory and practice do not
always coincide, but they did so nicely in the
cate Of Ericcson's monitor that Americans
may be very sanguine Of the success of their
new movement towards a revolution in naval
warfare.